


And Now I'm Home Again

by ohnonotthemagain



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017), The Three Caballeros (1944)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Donald Duck Needs a Hug, Drabble, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Multi, One Shot, Post-Episode: s02e24 Moonvasion!, Title from a Black Veil Brides Song, but i am still full of spite and salt, have i ever written a fic that doesnt use those two tags, is this ship? is this gen? we'll never know, its been a year since the finale, not that youd know because its from the least bvb bvb song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27959834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohnonotthemagain/pseuds/ohnonotthemagain
Summary: Donald was alone in his houseboat, as usual.It usually didn’t feel so lonely.--In which I post an old fic that I thought was still kind of cute.
Relationships: José Carioca & Donald Duck & Panchito Pistoles, José Carioca/Donald Duck/Panchito Pistoles
Comments: 2
Kudos: 84





	And Now I'm Home Again

**Author's Note:**

> finding this and uploading it on the three caballeros' anniversary was kind of an accident but. hey, it fits!

Donald was alone.

Alone in his houseboat, as usual. It wasn’t anything new. Ever since he and the triplets moved into Scrooge’s mansion, they preferred to spend their nights in his lush, expensive beds rather than the bunks of Donald’s boat. Not that he blamed them, they were soft and comfortable and brought back many of his childhood memories, but he still preferred the gentle rocking of his boat.

It usually didn’t feel so lonely.

But ever since the moonvasion, Donald felt out-of-place. Everyone had gotten along just fine without him around. Never even noticed he was gone longer than he was supposed to be. Never noticed that while Della and the kids were having the time of their lives, making up for all the time they’d lost, Donald had almost died twice and was stranded, surviving only on sheer determination to keep his kids safe. 

Donald’s phone was buzzing. Maybe one of the kids wanted to talk, and they couldn’t be bothered to come and see him themselves. Or maybe it was Della. It didn’t really matter, did it? He wondered if he should even see who it was. It couldn’t be anything that important. But with a defeated sigh, he reached over and grabbed his phone. He blinked at the brightness of the screen, eyes slowly adjusting to read the caller’s name.

The text read “Panchito.” Possibly the last person he expected to be calling. But just seeing his friend’s name made him smile a bit, despite his melancholy. He answered, still a bit confused. “Pancho?”

He was instantly met with excited crowing. “Donald! _Hola!_ ” The fast-talking rooster didn’t give Donald a chance to say anything before he continued. “I was worried after the moonvasion thing, I just wanted to make sure you and the _sobrinos_ were okay. But I’m guessing you are, since you picked up. And, uh, sorry for calling so late.”

It took a second for Donald to register what he’d heard. He called just to check on him? That was… surprising. In a nice way. A nice way that made Donald almost forget why he was so upset, and made his stomach feel light and airy. “Well, me and the kids are doing fine.” That was a lie. He was anything but okay. But Panchito didn’t need to know that. After a bit of internal debate, he added, “Della’s back, too.”

Panchito shuffled around, wherever he was, muffled noises coming through the phone’s speaker. “Really? We should pay her a visit later!”

“We?”

“Yeah. Zé’s here too.” A short pause. “You’re in the houseboat, right?”

“What? Why do you-”

“I’m taking that as a yes!” he yelped, and before Donald could demand an explanation, the line went dead.

Rolling his eyes, Donald got out of his bed. If José was with him, the two had to be up to something. The only question was-

_THUD._

After the momentary shock of the noise was over, he bolted out the door, faint trace of a smile on his beak.

It was hard to see in the moonlight, but there, on the houseboat’s roof, brushing the dust off his shirt like he had merely tripped, was Panchito. No doubt he’d gone skydiving without a parachute again and thought Donald’s houseboat would make a good landing pad. “Hey, Donald!” he said, and hopped from the roof to Donald’s side, an impressive feat in the darkness, and wrapped the duck up in a tight hug.

“It- it’s good to see you too, Panchi.” he choked out. With an apologetic laugh, Panchito set him down. “Scrooge will kill me if he knows you’re here.” Despite his words, Donald was smiling.

“Bah, the old miser doesn’t need to know!” José had just landed, much more quietly thanks to the parachute. He tossed it aside (he could always put it away later), and jumped down to join the other two. “I hope you don’t mind the surprise visit, Donal’.”

Quickly, before he could talk himself out of it, he gave José a hug, more mild than any of Panchito’s. “Actually… I’m glad you two came.” He couldn’t see it, but he could feel Panchito and José exchanging glances. They knew Donald never hugged unless something was going very well or very badly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” José’s soothing voice and gentle hands on his sides made his insecurities fade, if only by a little.

He nodded, and José kept his hand in his as they headed back into the boat. Panchito wrapped an arm around Donald’s shoulders, giving him a reassuring smile.

They remembered.


End file.
